# We're a Nielsen Rating Family! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 12, 2002, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445 "2002-11-12T16:10:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/1 "2002-11-12T16:10:57Z")
After a solicitation phone call after which I was deeply suspicious that they weren’t _really_ who they said they were and that I’d probably signed up for some telemarketing scam, I got the postcard today confirming that we’re a Nielsen family! I’m scheduled to record our viewing habits for the week of November 17th. Yes, I will be the one of three people in America who will have watched _Haunted_ on UPN. (Matthew Fox. Mmmm.) I hope we don’t have to record _why_ we’ve tuned in. I doubt “To watch ‘Hunky Guy’” would be an option… Anyway, I thought I’d share. If anyone has a show they want to save, start pleading now. I’m not above taking bribes. 🙂 L- ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/2 "2002-11-12T16:17:01Z")
Hey! The Doors family is an Arbitron radio family for the week of November 21-28. Same deal: Guy calls asking if we wanted to do it. Apparently, Airman’s demographic (white males under 30) is in demand. Let’s see… NPR, NPR, NPR, NPR, Dickinson College radio station, NPR, NPR, NPR. 🙂 (I don’t listen to a lot of commercial radio, actually, so WITF gets a nice boost to the tune of a couple thousand people.) Robin ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/3 "2002-11-12T16:19:33Z")
Firefly! ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/4 "2002-11-12T16:31:55Z")
We did the Arbitron thing a couple of months back. Almost exclusively NPR during my drive time. I don’t listen to the radio at home and our local station was off the air from 9-3 daily for work on their transmitter antenna, so I couldn’t listen at my desk. They gave us a buck. wow. ---
**Author:** ![Hugh\_Jass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4da419/32.png) [@Hugh\_Jass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hugh_Jass)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/5 "2002-11-12T16:47:09Z")
I have to second Legomancer. Please help save Firefly. It’s on Fox, Friday’s at 7 p.m., central time. ---
**Author:** ![Hugh\_Jass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4da419/32.png) [@Hugh\_Jass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hugh_Jass)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/6 "2002-11-12T16:52:33Z")
I have to second Legomancer. Please help save Firefly. It’s on Fox, Friday’s at 7 p.m., central time. ---
**Author:** ![lauramarlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a5b964/32.png) [@lauramarlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lauramarlane)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/7 "2002-11-12T17:27:05Z")
Have fun with it–I was part of the Neilson family thing several years ago. They don’t pay you to be a part, but we got some cool free gifts on the boys birthdays. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/8 "2002-11-12T18:14:05Z")
I hate to be a party-pooper but I thought Neilsen famlies making themselves public is a big no-no. ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/9 "2002-11-12T18:20:07Z")
I’m counting on you to keep The West Wing and Law & Order\* on the air. Don’t let me down. [sub]\*No, I don’t mean Law & Order SVU, PPO, RSVP or WWF. I mean plain-old, ordinary Law & Order.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/10 "2002-11-12T22:44:20Z")
Can you tape “Firefly” and watch it over and over and over and over and over and over again all week? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/11 "2002-11-12T22:54:13Z")
Yes, _please_ help save Firefly. I’m not sure what I need to be saved from, but feel free to help out. 🙂 Maybe you can pay off some of my debts for me, like people did for [Karyn Bosnak](http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/11/11/save.karyn.ap/index.html). I’ll even set up a “Save Firefly” web site and everything! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/12 "2002-11-13T09:06:53Z")
Definitely **Firefly**. It’s a great show, and it needs all the help it can get. please? 🙂 Does anyone know how many Nielsen families there are? How much would the ratings change with one additional family reporting they watch a show? Eric ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/13 "2002-11-13T19:06:23Z")
My roommates and I were a Nielson “family” in college. IIRC we were not asked to keep it a secret. I remember being torn sometimes at the moral issues of changing my viewing habits to watch a show I wanted to get good ratings, or not wanting to record that I had watched something really horrible. I thought I should watch what I would “normally” watch, but what if something sucked so much it didn’t deserve my rating? Aargh. Too much responsibility. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/14 "2002-11-13T19:26:32Z")
I got the letter from Arbitron in today’s mail, and we get a whole dollar for participating. And, FTR, the college station isn’t Dickinson College, as I thought, but [WXPN](http://www.xpn.org) from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. (Harrisburg gets it on a repeater frequency.) Robin ---
**Author:** ![Elusive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/2bfe46/32.png) [@Elusive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elusive)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/15 "2002-11-13T19:35:22Z")
Ooh, you’re _definitely_ not supposed to be telling strangers that you have a Nielsen box. Can’t tell you how I know this _cough_ This thread is precisely the kind of thing you’re not supposed to do if you’re a Nielsen household. They want to avoid the possibility that networks will sniff you out and bribe you to watch their shows…rather like you’ve just said you’d do! That’s it, I’m telling. ---
**Author:** ![Kn\_ckers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/96bed5/32.png) [@Kn\_ckers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kn_ckers)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/16 "2002-11-13T19:45:28Z")
My family was a Nielsen family, once. I don’t think we were ever asked to keep it hush-hush, though. And while I’m here, another vote for \*\* Firefly \*\*. Watch it as you’ve never watched before. Friday. 8PM Eastern Time. Fox. Query - given the huge Pro-Firefly movement that’s brewing on the SDMB, why the heck are the ratings so low? Are Dopers the ONLY people that watch it? That would be sad. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/17 "2002-11-13T22:50:11Z")
Now I’m gonna have to dust off the TV and actually watch this show. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2002, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/18 "2002-11-14T00:21:49Z")
We signed no confidentiality agreement nor did anyone even kindly request that we keep hush-hush. We’re only supposed to fill in a diary for a week and we’re on our honor. Heh Heh. 🙂 And I’m only kidding about taking bribes. That would be soooo wrong of me. Network execs should e-mail me privately if they’d like to, um, discuss this matter in greater 6-digit detail. Anyway, you’ll all be happy to know that CNBC’s Market Watch and Squawk Box are safe since my husband puts it on every t.v. in the house in the morning. I’ll be out Friday night, but I’m planning on taping _Firefly_, which counts towards the ratings. I’m not out to cheat the system (honest!), but now you’ve gotten me genuinely intrigued. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2002, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/19 "2002-11-14T01:11:04Z")
Yay! “Firefly” is, IMO, the best new show of the season. It wasn’t when it started (I was more impressed by “Boomtown”), but “Firefly” has grown by leaps and bounds in the few short weeks it’s been on. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2002, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445/20 "2002-11-14T04:28:36Z")
Could you please say a dozen of your 18-35 year old friends came over to watch Firfely with you? And that they all bought everything that was advertised during the show? thanks, Brian [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-a-nielsen-rating-family/136445.md?page=2)